Liberating Buchenwald

How Rabbi Herschel Schacter saved the life of a Jewish boy who grew up to be Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau.

Excerpted from "Small Miracles from the Holocaust," by Yitta Halberstam and Judith Leventhal

Union, New Jersey, is a drab, grey, blue-collar town, not a place I would ordinarily visit. But a business meeting had been scheduled in this most unlikely place, so I left my usual stomping grounds in Manhattan and hopped a bus from Port Authority. Now the meeting – which had ended badly – was over, and I was brooding about it, deep in thought, standing at a windswept bus stop with two other commuters – a middle aged woman and a stooped elderly man.

“When’s the next bus to Manhattan due?” the woman approached the man.

Perhaps the older gentleman was hard of hearing, or perhaps he was trying to collect his thoughts. At any rate, he didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he gazed at the woman with a blank stare.

She went ballistic. “You idiot! What’s the matter with you?! Don’t you have any common courtesy? What are you, stupid?” She went on and on, hurling a volley of insults, curses and epithets at the bewildered man.

He looked at the yarmulke on my head, and motioned me to his side.

“Do you speak Yiddish?” he whispered in a thick, guttural accent.

I nodded yes.

“Ze’s an achta meshugenah.” (She’s crazy).

I smiled in commiseration.

The bus arrived, and I boarded quickly. I looked forward to my solitude and the opportunity to review the sequence of events that had led to the abysmal conclusion of the meeting. The bus was nearly empty, so I snuggled into a corner and closed my eyes.

“Ah, so good to find a landsman in Union, New Jersey!” a voice sighed into my ear.

The elderly gentleman had settled into the seat next to me, clearly seeking companionship. “Not too many Jews in Union, you know. Where do you live?”

Probably a lonely Holocaust survivor, I thought. It’s a mitzvah to give him a little attention. I would have to reassemble my thoughts some other time.

“I live on the Upper West Side,” I said with a smile.

“Ah, the Upper West Side,” he said, fumbling for a connection. “Do you know Rabbi Schacter? Do you attend his shul?”

“You mean the Jewish Center? I don’t happen to attend that particular synagogue, but certainly I know of Rabbi Schacter. He’s a renowned and highly respected Rabbi. Why do you ask?”

“I knew his father – Rabbi Herschel Schacter,” the man said with obvious pride. “He was the one who liberated me from Buchenwald. I will never forget that day for as long as I live.”

Rabbi Schacter was among the first to enter the gates, declaring: “Yidden, you are free.’

“Can you tell me about it?” I asked eagerly. Holocaust stories have a particular resonance with me.

“Buchenwald was eerily quiet. We were all in our barracks, waiting for roll call. We didn’t see or hear any of the Nazi officers milling around, but we were still too afraid to venture outside to investigate. Then we heard the roar of military vehicles as the front ranks of the American troops stormed Buchenwald.

"Rabbi Herschel Schacter, the Jewish chaplain, was among the first to enter the gates. He immediately made his way to the administrative offices where the PA system was housed, and broadcast this message in Yiddish over the camp’s loudspeakers. I will never forget what he said: “‘Yidden (my fellow Jews, my brothers), it’s over. Yidden, you are free. Yidden, we are the American troops here to liberate you. Yidden, you can come out now.’

“But few of us did. We were frightened. Most of us thought it was a trick. We couldn’t really fathom that the nightmare had truly ended. I was one of the few who came forward, and I trailed behind Rabbi Schacter in wonderment as he began inspecting the camp with the American generals at his side. An American soldier who spoke Yiddish. Amazing!

“The American officers and Rabbi Schacter were clearly devastated by the carnage they saw. They walked around with dazed expressions of disbelief. With stricken eyes, they stared alternately at the mounds of corpses piled neatly in rows and the skeletons strewn haphazardly on the ground. They reeled from the stench, from the furnaces still hot, from the ashes still smoldering in the air. Groans of horror, gasps of shock, continuously issued from their lips. Despite all the reports they had heard in advance, they had never conceived of or been prepared for such depravity, such evil, as they witnessed now.

“At one point, Rabbi Schacter stood paralyzed in front of a mound of corpses, unable to go on. Suddenly, a slight movement caught his eye. He touched the arm of the general accompanying him. ‘I think I saw one of the corpses move,’ he trembled in excitement. ‘I think one of them is still alive!’

“‘Rabbi, it’s impossible,’ the general gently remonstrated him. ‘Even if the person was still alive when he was thrown into the pit, the weight of all the other bodies on top of him would have suffocated him to death.’

“’No, no no,” Rabbi Schacter insisted. ‘Don’t you see some movement? I see it, I see it even now!’

“’Rabbi,’ the general repeated patiently, ‘I know how much it would mean to you to be able to save even one life, but it’s your imagination, sir. All those people in the pit are dead.’

He stumbled upon a small child, wide-eyed with fear, hiding behind a pile of bodies.

“But Rabbi Schacter was not easily persuaded. He drew closer to the mound of corpses, and began circling it slowly. It was then that he stumbled upon a small child, wide-eyed with fear, who had been hiding behind the pile of bodies, and whose slight motion Rabbi Schacter’s eagle eye had detected.

“‘I found a child! I found a child!’ he yelled to the officers. ‘A child in Buchewald, alive! It’s a miracle!’ He whooped joyously. Rabbi Schacter knelt down before the child, and embraced him gently. ‘What is your name, sweet child?’ he asked in Yiddish.

“’Lulek,’ the child answered, eyes averted.

‘And how old are you, Lulek?’ Rabbi Schacter asked tenderly.

“’What’s the difference?’ the boy said sadly. ‘What are numbers? Believe me, with what I have seen, and what I have experienced, I am older than you. You can laugh and you can cry, but I can no longer do either.’

“Rabbi Schacter later discovered that the boy – perhaps the youngest known survivor of the concentration camps – was only eight years old. One and a half million innocent children had already been brutally murdered by the Nazis and against all odds, this one child had clung on to life. The Nazis routinely killed all children who entered the camps, and the discovery of this lone child was both a shock and a triumph. A combination of miraculous circumstances and his own steely resolve had kept young Lulek alive.

“Rabbi Schacter insisted that Lulek stay at his side; he didn’t want to let him go. He asked Lulek to accompany him to the prisoners barracks, where the inmates were still hiding, so that he could personally reassure them that it was true: they were liberated, they were free, it was over. He held Lulek’s hand tightly as they walked from one barracks to another, announcing the same message over and over again: ‘Yidden, you are free. Yidden, it is over. Yidden, you are free.

“And do you know who this little child Lulek turned out to be?” the elderly gentleman asked me with a triumphant smile, as our bus rolled into Port Authority.

A few weeks later, I was rushing down the streets of the Upper West Side, trying to get to my shul for the afternoon prayer service of Mincha. When I realized I wouldn’t make it in time, I decided to duck into the nearest functioning synagogue. By chance, it happened to be The Jewish Center, presided over by Rabbi Jacob Schacter, Rabbi Hershel Schacter’s son.

After mincha, we crossed paths, and I told Rabbi Schacter of my encounter on the bus with the Buchenwald survivor. As I recounted the survivor’s tale, Rabbi Schacter began weeping, and he pumped my hand in gratitude. “You know, my father told me this story 30 years ago,” he said, “and of course, I believed him. But it means so much to me to have it corroborated by a witness, and to hear the events that occurred depicted from this man’s perspective. You don’t know what this means to me. You have given me a gift.”

Just a short time after this conversation took place, I traveled to the Catskills for the weekend and stayed at a summer resort called Vacation Village. Every Sabbath, Vacation Village hosts a different distinguished guest, and unbeknownst to myself, the scholar in residence on that particular weekend just happened to be Rabbi Herschel Schacter, liberator of Buchenwald.

After his speech ended, I raised my hand and asked if I might recount a story that I had recently heard about his experiences in Buchenwald. He graciously gave his assent, and I proceeded with my tale. I felt privileged to be able to tell the 400 people in the audience how Rabbi Schacter was responsible for the rescue and well-being of the current Chief Rabbi of Israel.

There was only a short interval that lapsed between this and my final experience with the story. Not many days had passed when I was summoned to a fund-raising dinner I was reluctant to attend. My tentativeness, however, immediately vanished, when I entered the ballroom and saw on the dais none other than Lulek – Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, the Chief Rabbi of Israel. Sitting next to him was... Rabbi Herschel Schacter.

Rabbi Lau was called to the podium to deliver a speech, but before he launched into his opening remarks, he introduced Rabbi Schacter to the audience. “You see this man over here?” he pointed to the Buchenwald liberator. “He saved my life.”

Rabbi Herschel Schacter recently passed away at the age of 95.

Excerpted from "Small Miracles from the Holocaust," by Yitta Halberstam and Judith Leventhal

About the Author

Visitor Comments: 12

(10)
NANCY G. ELLISON,
June 23, 2013 4:55 PM

RABBI WHO SAVED A CHILD IN BUCHENWALD

WHAT A WONDERFUL STORY TO READ. I'M CHRISTIAN AND HAVE A GREAT PASSION FOR THE JEWS. THIS IS SO AMAZING TO READ. I WISH I COULD MEET THE RABBI WHO WAS THE BOY LULEK WHEN HE WAS FOUND ALIVE IN BUCHENWALD. WHAT A WONDERFUL THING THAT WOULD BE.

Brian so snow,
August 5, 2013 1:34 AM

Rabbi Lau's son was just elected to become the next chief rabbi of the ashkenazi(European) Jews in Israel. Rabbi Lau senior lives in Eretz Israel.

(9)
GLORIA HOLLANDER LYON,
June 15, 2013 5:20 AM

It was told to Pres.Reagen at 1st Holocaust Survivors' Reunion in Wash.DC

We were mesmerized as the story was related even to us, seasoned Holocaust Survivors.

(8)
Ruth Anne Lieber,
April 11, 2013 7:24 PM

QuestionIs this the same Rabbi Hershel Schacter who was the Rabbi of Mosholu Jewish Center on Hull Avenue in the Bronx? That was the shul that my Grandmother belonged to.

Martin Perlmutter,
April 13, 2013 12:16 AM

Rabbi Schachter

Yes he was the Rabbi of the Mosholu J.C. in the Bronx. Check the NY TIMES recent obit.

(7)
Menashe Kaltmann,
April 10, 2013 1:17 AM

Condolences to Rabbi Schachter's Family from Australia!

Wonderful article.

Sincere condolences on the passing of Rabbi Herschel Schacter.

My Dad Yossi ad 120! is a Holocaust survivor from Bratslava (Pressburg) and he vividly remembered Rabbi Herschel Schacter from his liberation by US forces at another concentration camp in Germany in 1945,

when Rabbi Herschell Scachter once visited Australia my Dad was very happy to see him again.

He reminded him that he had a shamash assistant nicknamed "Chaimelle".

(6)
craig,
April 9, 2013 5:49 PM

sigh...

oh steve. thanks for making me cry at work.

(5)
Sharon,
April 9, 2013 4:23 PM

Incredible History

Enjoyed reading this article SO much. I took my Mom (in her 90s) to see Elie Wiesel speak at WTSU a few years ago & he kept looking at us, sitting near the front. At one point of his speech he mentioned that he "collected faces", & he also told the story of watching his own Mother & little sister being walked towards an open pit of fire ... just after they arrived at a concentration camp. The horrors & injustices of that time were unbeliveable...but will will NEVER be forgotten. It was awesome to read your story & know the history will continue to be told.

(4)
dr bruce and sheila hunter,
April 9, 2013 3:37 AM

beautiful story!!

this is beautiful!!it made us cry!!!amazing one small child, so predestined to be a wonderful man representing Israel in the most important way.

(3)
Melinda Stein,
April 8, 2013 12:37 PM

Rabbi Shachter in Washington DC

In 1983, at the first American Gathering of HOlocaust Survivors and Their Families, Rabbi Herschel Shachter addressed the 20,000 attendees and told us this story, in the original Yiddish. He then asked the entire assemblage to stand and to recite the Kaddish together. He stated that because so many of the dead never had descendants, we would each be saying the Kaddish for 300 souls.

(2)
Aaron Weinberg,
April 8, 2013 11:45 AM

I believe Rabbi Herschel Schacter was the Rabbi of the Mosholu Jew ish Center in The Bronx

Rabbi Schacter was the Rabbi of the shul where I made my Bar Mitzva and he officiated at my brothers twin brothers marriage.He was a wonderful man and inspiration to my Grandmother. I am sure he has the blessings of G-d

(1)
Anonymous,
April 7, 2013 5:41 PM

beautiful

I loved this story, for several reasons. #1, I happen to know the 2nd generation Shacters from Manhattan, and they are beautiful people, with clearly special yichus. 2ndly, I find that many Holocaust stories are so distractingly horrific, that the gore traumatizes the listener, while this one had just enough reality to draw tears, but enough inspiration to also uplift. Thank you for passing the gift along.

I live in rural Montana where the Cholov Yisrael milk is difficult to obtain and very expensive. So I drink regular milk. What is your view on this?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Jewish law requires that there be rabbinic supervision during the milking process to ensure that the milk comes from a kosher animal. In the United States, many people rely on the Department of Agriculture's regulations and controls as sufficiently stringent to fulfill the rabbinic requirement for supervision.

Most of the major Kashrut organizations in the United States rely on this as well. You will therefore find many kosher products in America certified with a 'D' next to the kosher symbol. Such products – unless otherwise specified on the label – are not Cholov Yisrael and are assumed kosher based on the DOA's guarantee.

There are many, however, do not rely on this, and will eat only dairy products that are designated as Cholov Yisrael (literally, "Jewish milk"). This is particularly true in large Jewish communities, where Cholov Yisrael is widely available.

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein wrote that under limited conditions, such as an institution which consumes a lot of milk and Cholov Yisrael is generally unavailable or especially expensive, American milk is acceptable, as the government supervision is adequate to prevent non-kosher ingredients from being added.

It should be added that the above only applies to milk itself, which is marketed as pure cow's milk. All other dairy products, such as cheeses and butter, may contain non-kosher ingredients and always require kosher certification. In addition, Rabbi Feinstein's ruling applies only in the United States, where government regulations are considered reliable. In other parts of the world, including Europe, Cholov Yisrael is a requirement.

There are additional esoteric reasons for being stringent regarding Cholov Yisrael, and because of this it is generally advisable to consume only Cholov Yisroel dairy foods.

In 1889, 800 Jews arrived in Buenos Aires, marking the birth of the modern Jewish community in Argentina. These immigrants were fleeing poverty and pogroms in Russia, and moved to Argentina because of its open door policy of immigration. By 1920, more than 150,000 Jews were living in Argentina. Juan Peron's rise to power in 1946 was an ominous sign, as he was a Nazi sympathizer with fascist leanings. Peron halted Jewish immigration to Argentina, introduced mandatory Catholic religious instruction in public schools, and allowed Argentina to become a haven for fleeing Nazis. (In 1960, Israeli agents abducted Adolf Eichmann from a Buenos Aires suburb.) Today, Argentina has the largest Jewish community in Latin America with 250,000, though terror attacks have prompted many young people to emigrate. In 1992, the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires was bombed, killing 32 people. In 1994, the Jewish community headquarters in Buenos Aires was bombed, killing 85 people. The perpetrators have never been apprehended.

Be aware of what situations and behaviors give you pleasure. When you feel excessively sad and cannot change your attitude, make a conscious effort to take some action that might alleviate your sadness.

If you anticipate feeling sad, prepare a list of things that might make you feel better. It could be talking to a specific enthusiastic individual, running, taking a walk in a quiet area, looking at pictures of family, listening to music, or reading inspiring words.

While our attitude is a major factor in sadness, lack of positive external situations and events play an important role in how we feel.

[If a criminal has been executed by hanging] his body may not remain suspended overnight ... because it is an insult to God (Deuteronomy 21:23).

Rashi explains that since man was created in the image of God, anything that disparages man is disparaging God as well.

Chilul Hashem, bringing disgrace to the Divine Name, is one of the greatest sins in the Torah. The opposite of chilul Hashem is kiddush Hashem, sanctifying the Divine Name. While this topic has several dimensions to it, there is a living kiddush Hashem which occurs when a Jew behaves in a manner that merits the respect and admiration of other people, who thereby respect the Torah of Israel.

What is chilul Hashem? One Talmudic author stated, "It is when I buy meat from the butcher and delay paying him" (Yoma 86a). To cause someone to say that a Torah scholar is anything less than scrupulous in meeting his obligations is to cause people to lose respect for the Torah.

Suppose someone offers us a business deal of questionable legality. Is the personal gain worth the possible dishonor that we bring not only upon ourselves, but on our nation? If our personal reputation is ours to handle in whatever way we please, shouldn't we handle the reputation of our nation and the God we represent with maximum care?

Jews have given so much, even their lives, for kiddush Hashem. Can we not forego a few dollars to avoid chilul Hashem?

Today I shall...

be scrupulous in all my transactions and relationships to avoid the possibility of bringing dishonor to my God and people.

With stories and insights,
Rabbi Twerski's new book Twerski on Machzor makes Rosh Hashanah prayers more meaningful. Click here to order...